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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158971">Girls' Night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HouseofSannae/pseuds/HouseofSannae'>HouseofSannae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts Ψ: The Seeker of Darkness [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Movie Night, Slice of Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:14:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,576</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158971</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HouseofSannae/pseuds/HouseofSannae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kairi hosts a (girls only) movie night at her and Naminé's house</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aqua &amp; Kairi &amp; Naminé &amp; Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua &amp; Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi &amp; Selphie (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts Ψ: The Seeker of Darkness [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/960336</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>114</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>103</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            “I got it,” Naminé said, amused, glancing over to where Xion was draped over Kairi on the couch.</p><p>            “Thanks, Nam!” Kairi said. “It’s kind of illegal for me to move right now.”</p><p>            “Only kind of?” Xion asked. “I’m insulted.” Both of them giggled.</p><p>            There was another, more confused knock on the door, and Naminé hurried over to answer it. Aqua stood on the other side, several bags in her hands, looking a little puzzled. “Hope I’m not interrupting,” she said, wryly.</p><p>            “We’re having an intense debate on our house’s bylaws,” Naminé answered in the same tone, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at Xion and Kairi on the couch. “Specifically whether or not making Xion get off of you to get up and answer the door is a felony or a misdemeanor.”</p><p>            “It’s punishable by cuddles,” Xion put in. “Hi, Aqua!”</p><p>            “Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Kairi replied. “Glad you could make it!”</p><p>            “Wouldn’t miss this for the worlds,” Aqua said, beaming, as she entered. “Are we still waiting on Selphie?”</p><p>            “Yep,” Naminé said. “She’ll be here soon, though.”</p><p>            It had been Kairi’s idea, now that things were calmed down: to have the girls over for a night of movies, junk food, and not having to deal with χ–blade-wielding maniacs anymore. Kairi and Naminé were hosting it; their house was big enough that their father wouldn’t be underfoot, not that five people needed all that much space. Xion had brought over leftover cupcakes from Sora’s birthday, as well as a promise from Roxas that he would double- and triple-check the ingredient amounts the next time he tried to bake something. Kairi had picked out the movies, based on what Naminé and Xion had no memory of seeing. Aqua had mentioned swinging by Disney Town to raid the ice cream shop, and it looked like she had made good on her promise.</p><p>            “May I take your bags, Master?” Naminé added.</p><p>            Aqua snickered. “Naminé, I told you you don’t have to call me that. We’re friends, I’m not going to make you stand on ceremony.”</p><p>            “Yeah, well, it means a lot to me,” Naminé said, beaming. “So unless it’s really bothering you, you’re just going to have to deal with it, Master.”</p><p>            “All right, all right,” Aqua said, still giggling, as she handed over the bags of ice cream tubs and followed Naminé over to the kitchen.</p><p>            Over on the couch, Kairi had frozen, and Xion was slowly sitting up and pulling a pillow into her lap. “Uh. So. That was…” Kairi said.</p><p>            “That was our sister, and our very straight friend,” Xion said. Neither of them were looking at each other, but both were starting to redden.</p><p>            “Right, yes, of course, that was never in doubt,” Kairi said. “But… I guess we both have conversations to have with our boyfriends.”</p><p>            “Guess so,” Xion said, noncommittally. She dared risk a glance at Kairi. “At least I have you to blame for this, eh?”</p><p>            “Just between us, it could just as easily be Sora’s influence,” Kairi said, a light smirk doing nothing to diminish her blush.</p><p>            Xion groaned and flopped back down. “I wish Nam could wipe that knowledge out of my head, thanks, Kairi.”</p><p>            “Hey, what are big sisters for?” Kairi teased, tousling her hair.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>            “Here, they can go in the icebox,” Naminé said, pulling it open. “You brought a lot, huh?”</p><p>            “Well, in my defense, I have no idea how much ice cream you all eat, but I <em>do</em> know how much I do,” Aqua said, teasing. “I just wanted to make sure you’d all get some.”</p><p>            Naminé snickered, and took a look at the labels. “Sea-salt for Xion, huh?”</p><p>            “Can’t wait to see her face when she finds out it comes in tubs,” Aqua said, smirking.</p><p>            “Royalberry – ah, that’s yours,” Naminé teased, and Aqua shrugged, guilty. “‘Ube’ for Kairi, whatever that is… What’s Neapolitan?”</p><p>            “Chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla,” Aqua said. “I figured you might want to try it. Lea mentioned something about your favourite ice cream being vanilla once upon a time, but I’m pretty sure he was making a joke. I didn’t get it, but–”</p><p>            “I… had a crush on a girl named Vanille,” Naminé said, quietly. “I say ‘had’. ‘Have’ is more accurate but it’s… never going to happen.”</p><p>            Aqua put the last tub of ice cream in the freezer and closed the door. “Do you want to talk about it?”</p><p>            Naminé shrugged. “Not much to talk about. We met while I was in Kairi, I tried to find her again after I got my own body, in the intervening time she got frozen in a crystal. Last time that happened it took her 700 years to get out, so that’s the death knell for any potential relationship. She did give me Hecatoncheir, though, the big robot thing I used in the Graveyard. I think it went back to her, so all I have is a Keychain and the sorrow of the impossible.”</p><p>            “Naminé?” Aqua said, quietly.</p><p>            “Yeah?”</p><p>            “I’m hugging you,” Aqua said. “This is not negotiable.”</p><p>            Naminé huffed. “I mean, if there’s no negotiating…”</p><p>            “There’s not,” Aqua said, and wrapped her arms around Naminé, who leaned into the hug.</p><p>            “Fiiiiine,” she said.</p><p>            But she appreciated it all the same.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>            “So what’s on the docket for tonight, Kai?” Selphie asked. She’d arrived a few minutes after Aqua, which Kairi had declared the official start time.</p><p>            “Nothing <em>we</em> haven’t seen before, Selphie, but stuff that Naminé and Xion and I think probably Aqua haven’t seen,” Kairi said. She held one up. “We’re starting with <em>this</em>.”</p><p>            “Wasn’t that Sora’s favourite?” Selphie asked.</p><p>            “Yep!” said Kairi.</p><p>            “Are we watching the sequels?”</p><p>            “Yeah, we’ll watch the second one, Riku liked it a lot, too,” Kairi said, nodding.</p><p>            Selphie frowned. “What about the third and fourth one?”</p><p>            A smile spread across Kairi’s face, and she tilted her head. “What <em>about</em> the third and fourth one?”</p><p>            Selphie chuckled. “Fair enough.”</p><p>            Xion, Aqua, and Naminé watched this exchange in bemusement, but accepted Kairi’s authority on the matter. “Before we start,” Aqua said, “Ice cream?”</p><p>            “Yes!” Xion said, excited, and they reconvened in the kitchen for bowls, ice cream, and cupcakes.</p><p>            “So, no cones?” Selphie asked.</p><p>            “Cones?” Xion echoed, confused.</p><p>            Selphie grinned. “Oh, honey, do I have a treat for <em>you</em>.”</p><p>            “Careful, she’s still reeling over the idea of ice cream not coming on sticks,” Naminé teased.</p><p>            “No cones,” Kairi confirmed. “Dad’s still teasing me about dripping ice cream on the couch, so we went with bowls.”</p><p>            “Still?” Selphie asked. “That was, like, almost two years ago? When we were celebrating you getting together with Sora and Riku?”</p><p>            Kairi nodded. “And yet he still brings it up whenever he can.”</p><p>            “Does it stop you from eating food on the couch without proper precautions?” Aqua asked, innocently.</p><p>            Kairi pouted, and glared at her. “And that’s my answer,” Aqua said, snickering.</p><p>            They returned to the living room with bowls of ice cream, and cupcakes; there was a clear dividing line between who kept the cupcakes separate (Aqua, Naminé, Xion) and who smushed them on top of the ice cream (Kairi, Selphie). “I’m sorry, Selphie, I didn’t know what to get you,” Aqua apologized from the recliner next to the couch.</p><p>            Selphie shrugged. “Hey, I love all the flavours,” she said, “so this is fine.” She’d wound up stealing a scoop of everyone else’s.</p><p>            “Okay, Kairi, I need to know,” Naminé asked. “What flavour is ‘ube’?” The ice cream in Kairi’s bowl was a rich lavender. Naminé was pretty sure Kairi had a skirt that was the same colour.</p><p>            Kairi took a spoonful and ate it, savouring. “Mmm. It’s yam flavoured,” she explained.</p><p>            Aqua blinked. “<em>Excuse</em> me?”</p><p>            “It’s made from purple yams,” Kairi said. “I demanded it once as a kid because of the colour, and I loved it. It doesn’t taste as weird as you’d think. Want to try it?” She held out her bowl, and Aqua took a slice with her own spoon.</p><p>            She contemplated it for a second, then shook her head. “All right, better than what I was expecting,” she admitted. “I’m sticking with mine, though.”</p><p>            Naminé stood up. “I’m going to put the movie on before all the ice cream’s gone,” she said.</p><p>            “Thank you, Naminé!” the rest of them chorused, and she giggled, putting the movie’s disc into the player and pressing “PLAY”.</p><p>            The movie began, showing a storybook opening as an oddly-accented voice told the story of a princess trapped under an enchantment, awaiting her true love to rescue her… before abruptly swerving.</p><p>            “Sora… likes this movie?” Aqua asked, incredulous.</p><p>            “Give it time,” Kairi said, Selphie nodding along beside her.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>            “ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!” Xion yelled. “<em>THIS</em> IS WHAT THAT SONG IS FROM?!” The song Roxas had once sang to her was playing over the ending credits.</p><p>            Kairi was snickering, while everyone else was looking between them in confusion. “What?” she asked. “It’s a really cute song!”</p><p>            “Hate you,” Xion muttered.</p><p>            “Love you!” Kairi teased. “But seriously, though, better than you thought it was going to be, right?”</p><p>            “I will admit, it was pretty good,” Aqua said. “I liked the music.”</p><p>            “Remind me to steal Sora’s copy of the soundtrack for you,” Kairi said. “Didn’t Ienzo say those new computer things could store and play music?”</p><p>            “Yeah, but that’s a little inconvenient,” Naminé said. “It’s not going to replace portable CD players.” Hers was safely stored, along with her ever-growing collection, up in her room.</p><p>            “He’s probably working on that,” Xion mused.</p><p>            “Unless there are any objections, we’re watching the sequel next?” Kairi said.</p><p>            “More ice cream first,” Aqua proposed.</p><p>            “Terra wasn’t kidding,” Xion whispered to Naminé, who stifled a giggle.</p><p>            “Trust us, if you liked the first one, the sequel’s even better,” Kairi promised.</p><p>            “What about the third and fourth ones?” Selphie asked.</p><p>            “What <em>about</em> the third and fourth ones?” Kairi repeated, tilting her head and smiling.</p><p>            “Were you planning on showing us that trilogy you love, Kairi?” Naminé asked.</p><p>            Kairi snapped out of the look. “Oh, no, not yet. That’d be like nine hours just by itself, and besides, I want to do that with Terra. He likes the books, too, and the movies came out while he was away.”</p><p>            “He’d like that,” Aqua said, smiling.</p><p>            “Ready?” Kairi asked when they had all reconvened with more junk food. “All right. If you liked the music in the first one…” She hit “PLAY”.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>            “…The donkey fucked a dragon,” Xion said, blankly.</p><p>            Selphie patted her on the shoulder, sympathetic. “Try not to think too hard about it.”</p><p>            “The donkey… fucked a dragon.”</p><p>            “When I was a kid I thought that the pregnancy was only viable because they had both been horses for a while,” Kairi said, conversationally, “but as I got older I realized that the dronkeys couldn’t possibly have been conceived while they were under the effects of the potion, so that had nothing to do with it.”</p><p>            “‘Dronkeys’?” Naminé asked.</p><p>            Kairi shrugged. “Well, what else would you call them? ‘Dongons’? That’s not going to get through Standards and Practices. Can’t put <em>that</em> on a shirt you’re selling to kids.”</p><p>            Aqua took a deep breath. “Well… I’ll agree, it was a great movie, even with the… um… creative xenobiology. Never thought I’d cry for a giant cookie.”</p><p>            “<em>Right?!</em>” Selphie said. “It hits in all the right places.”</p><p>            “Definitely,” Aqua agreed. “And you’re right, the music was still excellent.”</p><p>            “I’ll be sure to steal <em>Riku’s</em> copy of the soundtrack for you,” Kairi promised with a wink.</p><p>            “You said you had one more?” Naminé asked.</p><p>            “Yep,” Kairi said, “buuuuuut I see that look in Aqua’s eye and I think we have more ice cream to collect.”</p><p>            “I refuse to be ashamed,” Aqua mumbled, blushing.</p><p>            The group laughed as they went back to the kitchen, all except Xion, who continued staring at the now-blank TV screen. “The donkey… fucked… a dragon.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>            Aqua sat back down in the recliner with yet more ice cream. “Ooof,” she mumbled. “Glad I decided not to wear the corset tonight.”</p><p>            “It’s a bit weird seeing you out of it,” Xion agreed. “Like seeing Roxas or Lea or Isa without the Organization coat.”</p><p>            Aqua shrugged, smiling. “I have my old wardrobe back, so I figured there was no reason not to be comfortable.” She was wearing a t-shirt over slacks.</p><p>            “Those pants are comfortable?” Selphie asked, an eyebrow raised.</p><p>            Aqua blinked. “Do you not find this type of pants comfortable? I do.”</p><p>            It was Selphie’s turn to shrug. “I’m a dress/skirt girl, what can I say?”</p><p>            “This one’s live action, Kairi?” Xion asked, looking at the movie’s cover.</p><p>            “Yep,” Kairi said. “Also a bit older, but still a fantasy-comedy thing. More fantasy than comedy, though. Also based on a book.”</p><p>            “The first two were based on books?” Naminé asked,</p><p>            “I know, right? But it’s true, at least for the first one,” Kairi said. “Mind putting it in for me, Selphie?”</p><p>            Selphie rose, and moved over to the player, then turned back to Kairi as she inserted the disc. “<em>As you wish</em>,” she said, with a large wink. Kairi rolled her eyes, and Selphie snickered.</p><p>            “Um?” Aqua asked.</p><p>            “You’ll see in about ten minutes,” Kairi said, and pressed “PLAY”.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>            “…With all due respect to Sora and Riku,” Aqua said, staring at the screen as the credits rolled, “I think I liked this one the best.”</p><p>            Kairi nodded. “This is one of the first movies Dad ever showed me. Still one of my favourites.” She glanced over at Naminé. “Hey, Nam, you okay?”</p><p>            “Yeah,” Naminé whispered, tears still running down her cheeks. “It was the… ‘Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.’”</p><p>            “Awww, come here, sweetie,” Selphie said, pulling Naminé over and patting her on the head. Naminé accepted the hug.</p><p>            “I thought you didn’t believe in true love?” Aqua asked her, curious.</p><p>            Naminé waved a hand at the TV. “There’s a difference between fiction and reality. I don’t believe true love exists in <em>real life</em>, but that’s not real life, that’s a story.” She sniffed. “So it can have aspects that don’t reflect reality, and use them to <em>crush my heart</em>.”</p><p>            Kairi nodded, patting Naminé’s arm. “Depiction isn’t advocacy.”</p><p>            “I gotta show Roxas this,” Xion said, leaning over Kairi to pat Naminé on the back.</p><p>            “We need to do this again, sometime, with everyone,” Kairi agreed. “Only maybe we should do it over at the Land of Departure. More space.”</p><p>            “I agree,” Aqua said. “…we’ll have to get a TV first, though.” An odd look moved across her face, but only Xion noticed it.</p><p>            “Right,” Kairi said, “now you’re all welcome to stay over, if you’d like–”</p><p>            “Yeah, <em>of course</em>,” Selphie said still patting Naminé’s head.</p><p>            “Definitely,” Xion said.</p><p>            “Oh, I should… um… go grab my pajamas, in that case,” Aqua said.</p><p>            Kairi nodded. “We’re gonna bring some mattresses out, you’ve got time. Sorry I didn’t make it clear this was a sleepover.”</p><p>            “It’s fine,” Aqua said, smiling. “I’ll go do that now, then.”</p><p>            “All right!” Kairi said. “The rest of you are my mattress moving crew!”</p><p>            With only minor grumbling, the other three girls set to their task as Aqua stepped outside to Light Corridor back to the Land of Departure for pajamas and sundries.</p><p>            When she returned, Xion was waiting for her.</p><p>            “You okay, Aqua?” she asked. “You looked… I dunno, wistful, earlier?”</p><p>            Aqua bit her lip, and walked over to join Xion on the porch. She matched Xion’s position, leaning over the railing, and sighed.</p><p>            “It was… when Kairi said ‘everyone’,” she said. “I just can’t shake the fact that it wouldn’t be… <em>all</em> of us.”</p><p>            Xion nodded. “Vanitas?”</p><p>            “Yeah.”</p><p>            “You really miss him, huh?”</p><p>            Aqua sighed again. “Yes.” She chuckled. “Never thought I’d be able to say <em>that</em> about <em>him</em>, but it’s true.”</p><p>            Xion put a hand on her arm. “He’ll come back,” she said, with the same conviction that Sora and Ven had. “We’re his family. We’re his <em>home</em>. I guarantee he misses you just as much as you miss him.”</p><p>            “Don’t get me wrong,” Aqua said, softly. “I’m <em>proud</em> of him for trying to figure himself out. <em>Damn</em> proud. He’s trying to figure out who he is, for himself. Even if he’s starting from a worse opinion of himself than the rest of us have.” She closed her eyes. “I just wish…” she murmured, “He could’ve found a way to do it closer to home.”</p><p>            Xion extended her arm, and Aqua leaned into the hug. “He’ll come back,” she repeated. “He’ll come <em>home</em>.”</p><p>            “Thank you,” Aqua murmured.</p><p>            “Anytime,” Xion said. “Ready to head in? We got the mattress all set up.”</p><p>            “Sure,” Aqua said. “How big of a mattress–?”</p><p>            Kairi had found a king size mattress somewhere in the house. It was set up with sheets, pillows, and light blankets that they probably wouldn’t need. They’d pushed the couch out of position to fit it in the room.</p><p>            “It’s really okay that we use this?” Aqua asked.</p><p>            Kairi nodded. “Yep! Dad got a new mattress a couple of weeks ago, so this has just been sitting in one of the guest rooms. Oh, don’t give me that look, we made sure it was clean,” she added, rolling her eyes.</p><p>            “No, um, more just the idea that he <em>replaced</em> a bed this big,” Aqua said, incredulous.</p><p>            “Being the Mayor’s gotta come with <em>some</em> perks,” Selphie said, nudging Kairi, who rolled her eyes again.</p><p>            After changing into their sleepwear, the girls gathered for bed. “Okay, probably should say this before we all get in together,” Kairi said. “If anyone isn’t comfortable with being in bed all together, we don’t have to.”</p><p>            “I’m good with it,” Xion said.</p><p>            “Same here,” Naminé echoed.</p><p>            “Always down!” Selphie agreed.</p><p>            “I think I’d actually prefer all together,” Aqua said, nodding.</p><p>            Kairi beamed. “Great! So, the second question is, are we all okay with platonic cuddling? Because I’m fairly sure that’s going to happen.”</p><p>            “I’ve been told I’m a cuddler, so yeah,” Xion said.</p><p>            “No problems here,” Naminé said.</p><p>            “Kairi we’ve had sleepovers before,” Selphie said. “I was expecting it.”</p><p>            “That would… be really nice, actually,” Aqua said. There was a wistful tone in her voice that wasn’t lost on any of them.</p><p>            “Sounds like you need it, Aqua,” Kairi said, sympathetic.</p><p>            “Yeah,” Aqua agreed. “I’ve just been… thinking.”</p><p>            “Van?” Naminé asked.</p><p>            “Yeah.”</p><p>            Kairi nodded. “Then Aqua gets to be the middle!”</p><p>            There were no objections. Aqua settled in in the centre, with Kairi and Naminé on each side of her. Xion slid in on Naminé’s other side, and Kairi lifted an arm to let Selphie cuddle in to her side. She patted her friend on the head affectionately. “You know,” she said, with a snicker, “it’s nice not being the shortest anymore. Glad to have you, Selph.”</p><p>            “Oh, <em>shush</em>,” Selphie muttered. “I’m <em>fun</em>-sized.”</p><p>            “And you’re still pretty short, Kairi,” Aqua teased.</p><p>            “Hey, I’m <em>average</em> height!” Kairi said.</p><p>            “Average height among <em>what</em>?” Aqua replied.</p><p>            “She’s not wrong, Nam and her and me are all the same height,” Xion said, Naminé nodding in agreement.</p><p>            “There, see? Average of everyone here,” Kairi said, smug.</p><p>            “I see,” Aqua said. “…objectively still short, though.”</p><p>            “Hey!”</p><p>            Laughter drifted through the night, as the girls settled in, home, warm and dry.</p><p>            And ready for the rest of their lives.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I have a confession to make.<br/>Back when I started writing fanfic, I had a few preconceived notions I've since been able to move away from. One of these was that for fic to "count", it had to be canon-compliant. Another was that if there <em>was</em> divergence from canon, it had to be justified. I threw canon compliance out the window way back in KLEA, as you're well aware. But...<br/>When I first started writing fic specifically for Kingdom Hearts, I had three ideas. I wanted to write a fic where Sora's mother meets Roxas, Xion, and Ventus; that became More Affection Than You Know. I wanted to write a fic about Kairi and Lea learning to wield their Keyblades, and have it be a worldhopping fic instead of setting it in either the Mysterious Tower or Radiant Garden; that became the Kairi and Lea's Fantastic Voyage duology. And I wanted to write a fic about Kairi, Naminé, Xion, and Aqua sitting on a couch, eating ice cream, and watching movies. And here we are.<br/>But wait. At that point in canon, Aqua was stuck in the Realm of Darkness, and Xion and Naminé didn't have bodies. So, I had to get Aqua back. And I had to get Xion and Naminé (and Roxas) bodies. And while I was at it, might as well get Ven his body back, too. And thinking about it, how exactly could they be having a relaxing evening to themselves with a dark cloud hanging over all their heads? So Xehanort had to go...<br/>I think you see where I'm going with this.<br/>Kingdom Hearts Ψ exists in its current form because I thought I had to justify how this fic could happen.<br/>No, I don't know why I'm like this.<br/>But I'm glad I am.<br/>So uh, *cough* embarrassing anecdotes aside, the fic itself. Yes, there really is a yam-flavoured ice cream in existence. I've never had it, but it was brought up when I asked for help on picking Kairi's favourite ice cream flavour in a Discord server I'm in. It fits her #aesthetic, both in the sense that it's purple and that it's odd.<br/>The three movies the girls watch should be clear enough without me laying them out specifically. Kairi's thoughts on the... creative xenobiology mirror my own from when I was a kid (as well as the later-day fridge logic that my theory made no sense).<br/>You may be wondering why Selphie and not Olette. Well, Selphie wasn't in the original idea, either, but considering she hasn't been seen in a Kingdom Hearts game since KH2<em>even though 3's ending takes place on the Destiny Islands and it makes WAY more sense for her, Tidus, and Wakka to be there than Hayner, Pence, and Olette</em>, I want to keep reminding everyone that she still exists. The Twilight trio will show back up again next time we're in Twilight Town.<br/>For those of you interested in my Final Fantasy experience, I finished FF12 two weeks ago! And I loved it! (Not as much as FF13, but I can now say for certain that that crown will likely never be stolen). It was a good game (caveat: at 4x speed. I would never want to play a version that didn't have that option), although after spending so much time on Dragon Quest 7 it felt kind of short (it was not. DQ7 is ridiculously long, like all Dragon Quest games after 3). Speaking of which, I have <em>finally</em> clawed my way past chapter 2 in DQ7 (chapter 2 is 3/5ths of the game) which means I'm <em>very</em> close to escaping from Grinding Hell(tm). Once I'm done that, I can focus on a certain other game I started last weekend: Final Fantasy XV. By "started", I mean I watched Brotherhood, played through chapter 1, and then watched Kingsglaive. First impressions? Kingsglaive was <em>much</em> better than I thought it was going to be. Final Fantasy has a history of not-very-good movies, plus there was that whole backlash against FFXV's story not being entirely contained to the game, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie was <em>fantastic</em>. We'll see if the game can make me like the protagonists as much as the movie made me like the side characters.<br/>I think that's everything! Next week will feature a short epilogue.<br/>Until then!</p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO-EFx9QfA8">
    <strong>One Year Later…</strong>
  </a>
</p><p> </p><p>            The magic swirled behind Naminé as she spun, culminating in a bright flash as she stuck a final pose. It dissipated harmlessly outward, as nothing was in range for it to hit, and she stood there, panting.</p><p>            She’d been spending a few hours every weekend over at the Land of Departure, learning from Aqua. It had taken her time, and unlearning of a few bad habits, but she’d managed to finally master several different Command Styles.</p><p>            And even invent one of her own.</p><p>            Aqua strode forwards, clapping, a huge smile on her face. “That’s <em>fantastic</em>, Naminé! What do you call it?”</p><p>            “Thanks!” Naminé said, gratefully accepting the water bottle Aqua handed her and taking a drink from it. “Since I based it off of your Spellweaver, I figured I could call it Dreamwe–”</p><p>            She was interrupted by a Light Corridor swirling into existence across the courtyard. Naminé frowned. “Were we expecting a visitor today?” she asked Aqua, who shook her head.</p><p>            Through the Corridor stepped a laced black boot, followed by a set of blue slacks, and a black, leather-looking half-skirt swinging from the person’s waist, adding a bit of swagger to his step. He was wearing a light brown t-shirt under an unbuttoned, red plaid button-down, and a fur-trimmed black jacket over it all.</p><p>            Vanitas stepped forwards, leaning Void Gear against his neck. He coughed, awkwardly. “Um… hi. You… said when I came back… I could–”</p><p>            “<em>VAN!</em>” He dropped Void Gear in shock as Aqua tore across the courtyard, tears in her eyes, and wrapped him in a massive hug. He froze, momentarily stunned, and from the light blush on his cheeks Naminé noted that the poor boy hadn’t gotten over his crush whatsoever.</p><p>            Vanitas’s arms tightened around Aqua in return. “I’m back,” he whispered, a note of happiness in his voice.</p><p>            Aqua laughed, and hugged him tighter. “Welcome <em>home</em>.”</p><p>            Naminé beamed, and was about to go run for Terra and Ven, when she realized what was wrong with this picture. “Wait…” she said. “What the heck happened to your hair?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Kingdom Hearts Ψ: The Seeker of Darkness</em>
</p><p>
  <em>fin</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The tale of Vanitas's Lost Year will be told another time. And will include both where he's been, why his outfit has slightly changed, and what the heck happened to his hair.<br/>And now... it's the end. But the moment has been prepared for.<br/>It has always been the plan to split this AU up like this, which is why on several occasions I’ve drawn a line between KHΨ the series and KHΨ the AU. The series, newly subtitled <em>Seeker of Darkness</em>, is over; the AU continues on. There's a few reasons why it's being broken up like this; the main one is that the next series is going to mostly be centred around Radiant Garden and the people living there. There’s going to be a greater emphasis on the Square Enix side of things than on the Disney side, and the AU is structured so that if the next arc is not to your taste for any reason, you have a point to get off the ride should you need one, no hard feelings (though obviously I hope most of you will stick around). I no longer have to finish a story Nomura started in order to do what I want, so we’ll see how that goes in <em>Kingdom Hearts Ψ: The Mistress of Evil</em>.<br/>It's been almost three years since I first put pen to pa... fingers to keyboard to write More Affection Than You Know. I was writing partially as an escape from painful life events (little did I know, right?), partially because I had a story I wanted to tell. And I'm very happy that it was a story people wanted to hear (even if, as it turns out, it was the story of 4-5 girls hanging out and eating junk food, and how they got there). I'd like to thank everyone who's read along, commented, given kudos, been exasperated, or otherwise lent your time to my rambling, no matter if you've been here since Sora's mom thought something was wrong with her son, or if you've found this series years after this writing. I quite literally would not have been able to keep this up without all of you, so, and I know I say it a lot but I mean it every time, thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy what I do. ^_^ I can honestly say I have no reg... actually, one regret. I thought of a better title for Working Back to Hero literally two days after posting it and it's been an irritation ever since. But, you know what? I'm gonna fix that. One sec.<br/>Much better. Now, I'm sure you're wondering when I'm going to start posting the next series. And the answer is... once I've started writing it.  Thing is, I’d actually like to step back from Kingdom Hearts for a bit. It was mostly writing the Nortfight that wore me out, but the fact remains that focusing all my energy on one project, the way I’ve been doing for the past three years, means that a lot of other ideas have to fall to the wayside. Now, I don’t feel burned out on writing KH stuff the way I did while writing the Nortfight anymore, but I still think it’s a good idea for me to work on some of these other ideas instead of just piling them up on the “someday” shelf. So I have three projects I'd like to undertake (And to give you a sense of where I actually am, two of them are already done; I finished this series in <em>June</em>) before I return to Kingdom Hearts. A one-shot, what was supposed to be a one-shot that wound up being chapters, and a three-fic trilogy (all multichapters, and what I'm currently working on). And then, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forwards in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. (/doctorwhoquote)<br/>To give you some hints as to what these fics will be, I have, in order, a statement, a quote, and a question.<br/>For the one-shot, a statement: It may be only a paper moon, but I still want to be your canary.<br/>For the should-have-been one-shot, a quote: “You’re either an obsessive crackpot who’s escaped from his keeper, or Phoenix Wright, attorney at law.”<br/>And, for the trilogy, a question:<br/>What is your favourite fairy tale<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9sZumHT7A">?</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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